Hello, There is NO law in Canada that prohibits you from making such a site. So go nuts and have fun! Your only problem is being harrassed by jelous people and students who have been expelled from school since they were caught cheating on your forum lol.
Well, I guess it all depends on the things are done. If it is a Help site where the students just post queries on issues they do not understand and get the answers then I would say that is fine. In the end, the student would be gaining knowledge from other experts while adding their own inputs into the homework or project. That I would see as part of the learning process. However, if your system is where the students do not need to do any work apart from providing the homework or project questions and paying for it and someone else do the entire work for them then I would think it is ethnically wrong because the student would probably not learn anything apart from the fact that if you have money you can buy anything.
It's like selling a term paper, I suppose. Not illegal to sell it, but illegal to use it word for word and claim it as your own. It's cheating, and that could lead to some very serious consequences, depending on the school. Colleges do not tolerate it, and will expell you just for running the site. Don't know about high schools, but I'm thinking the same would apply.
Instead of offering students the option to cheat through your site by paying people to do their homework. Maybe you should instead offer tutoring services if you really want to help out students.
I think instead of buying answers the students should be able to pay for help and support. That would be lot better way of doing it in my opinion.
Interesting concept. I actually like the idea, though I also don't want students having others doing their homeworks for them. Unfortunately the only one who can answer your legality question is a solicitor or lawyer in your jurisdiction.
ANSWER to MICKSCOOL: Several Comments: I visited tutornation.com the experts charge the students, i.e., $20 or more an hour. Is it wrong or ethical? My point of reference is that I taught at two different polytechnic colleges, one private and the other public. Students were a mix of new and retooling types. That is, high school graduates to PHD’s and everything in between. I could have been ahead of my time but 15 years ago I developed a project that required students to complete their research to the best of their ability then to contact two Expert resources. With action to create/complete/correct the student’s paper. They where to evaluate the results and give a synthesis. By synthesis, I mean a process which combines together two or more pre-existing actions resulting in the formation of something new. The results for those who really followed through was an explosive experiences in leaning. In conclusion, it’s much what we do today, for a leap in knowledge. You poke around the Internet and look at everyone's code (speech, etc..) and the methods. The Experts are right there in front of you and all you have to do is synthesis the work for what is right for your project. Its ethical if all parties are in agreement. Sorry about the dull reply
I don't see an ethical problem with it. Everyone needs help with their homework. I see a problem with someone doing your homework for you though.
The site is not illegal, however put a disclaimer up saying that work provided must not be used for copy involved in final submissions for qualifications, just to avoid you getting sued.
If a student gets kicked out of his course for cheating he may try and persue legal, though it may not work a small disclaimer on the sites t's & c's never hurts!
Ok, here's a lawyer's opinion (though I'm not a canadian lawyer, and it seems like that's where you are). It's not a copyright issue since, presumably the "tutors" are making work for hire for students. What's going to get you in trouble is that what you're suggesting is most certainly fraud. The question is, is it you that's committing the fraud? For that you have to look at Canada's definition of "fraud". University of Toronto Law School has an online dictionary for canadian law that defines fraud as: "Fraud: A knowingly wrong act or deceitful representation". The students are certainly committing academic fraud. Are you? Nope. You're committing conspiracy to commit academic fraud. Has anyone ever been prosecuted for it? Not that I can find.... I saw that someone recommended getting a lawyer to write a $100 TOS. I would highly suggest that you pay a bit more than that to make sure you have a good one... You need to make sure you disclaim all over your site that you're not providing materials to be turned in, but rather reference materials and help so that the student can do their own work. To further insulate the company, I would make sure you have IC agreements with all of your "tutors" that they agree not to do the student's work for them... Just my $.02. If you have other questions, feel free to ask. Deena Burgess, Esq. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.